Following a regulatory change earlier this year, persimmons grown in Japan will go on sale in Australia this month for the first time, the Sydney office of the Japan External Trade Organization has stated.

In January, the Australian government relaxed quarantine conditions that had required persimmons grown in Japan to be treated with a specific pesticide to be imported. The harmful effect of the pesticide on crop quality effectively prevented exports until now.

Under the new trial import program, roughly 1 ton of persimmons grown in Wakayama Prefecture in western Japan have been imported and will go on sale from Friday through Sunday at selec Asian grocery stores around Sydney.

"One persimmon can provide the recommended daily intake of vitamins A and C," Shigekazu Kimura, a senior official of Kihoku-kawakami Agricultural Cooperative Society in Wakayama, said at a JETRO-hosted event in Sydney, explaining the many health benefits of the sweet fruit.

Persimmons are still a lesser-known fruit in Australia, but their popularity is growing.